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The weirdest of all the US Open got even weirder Sunday when Novak Djokovic, the number one male player and number one seed, was disqualified from the tournament after inadvertently hitting a line with a hit ball out of frustration.
Djokovic was defaulted when he trailed 5-6 in the first set in the fourth round to Pablo Carreño Busta. He had just lost his serve after being treated for pain in his left shoulder early in the game.
After missing the game’s final point, he pulled a ball out of his pocket and hit it with his racket toward the back of the court. It hit the line, who was standing, in the throat. She screamed and collapsed on the ground, and Djokovic ran to her side to check on her condition.
She later left the court, still visibly distraught, and was treated by Dr. Brian Daniels, tournament doctor. But after a long discussion with tournament referee Soeren Friemel on the net, Djokovic was defaulted.
It was the latest misadventure of this year for the world’s dominant male player, who also sparked controversy by saying that he was personally hesitant to use vaccines and by staging an exhibition tour in Serbia and Croatia without social distancing that brought in multiple players including himself , to test positive for the coronavirus.
It was also the latest blow to this year’s US Open, which was deemed unlikely to take place when New York was one of the epicenters of the coronavirus. The tournament takes place without spectators for the first time and with players and their teams evaluated daily and restricted to their accommodation and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Djokovic was the only member of the “Big Three” in men’s tennis to play the event this year, with Roger Federer out of season after two knee surgeries and reigning champion Rafael Nadal choosing to remain in Spain and prepare for the Open. de France rescheduled and other clay court tournaments.
Djokovic only decided to come to New York last month after lengthy negotiations with tournament officials about quarantine rules. But his breach deprives the men’s event of the only remaining player to have won a Grand Slam singles title.
Djokovic has won 17 major singles titles. Officials on the men’s circuit have been itching for a new champion to emerge to challenge the Big Three’s dominance, but it certainly wasn’t the way anyone expected it to happen.
See this post on Instagram
This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked the person on the lines and the tournament told me that thank God she was feeling fine. I’m so sorry that I caused you so much stress. So involuntary. So wrong. I will not reveal your name to respect your privacy. As for disqualification, I need to go back inside myself and work on my disappointment and turn all of this into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and a human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and all associates for my behavior. I am very grateful to my team and my family for being my rock support, and to my fans for always being with me. Thank you and I am so sorry. This whole situation makes me really sad and empty. I reviewed how the linesman is feeling and based on the information I received, he feels fine thank goodness. I cannot reveal your name to preserve your privacy. I’m so sorry that I caused you so much stress. It was not intentional. It was wrong. I want to turn this unpleasant experience, the disqualification from the tournament, into an important life lesson, to continue growing and developing as a person, but also as a tennis player. I apologize to the organizers of the US Open. I am very grateful to my team and my family for giving me strong support, as well as my fans because they are always with me. Thank you and I’m sorry. This has been a difficult day for everyone.
“Players have been defaulted for less,” said Darren Cahill, the veteran coach who was sitting on the pitch at Arthur Ashe Stadium covering the game for ESPN. “I think the tournament made the right decision.”
Carreño Busta, the 20th seed from Spain, advanced to the quarterfinals with the default. Djokovic left the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center without speaking to the media.
“There is a rule for it. I think the supervisors and all of them are just doing their job, but they are very unlucky for Novak, ”said Alexander Zverev, a German player who was watching inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. He added: “I mean, if I had hit it anywhere else, if it had landed anywhere else, we’re talking a few inches, it would have been fine.”
Grand Slam rules prohibit players from abusing balls, as well as unsportsmanlike conduct, and tournament officials have the authority to disqualify a player immediately if they consider a case serious enough.
Players can be indicted for “hitting a ball or throwing a racket without intent to hurt” if someone is injured on the court, said Gayle David Bradshaw, retired vice president of rules and competition for the ATP Tour. “In this case, there was no intention, but there was damage, and the officials had no choice but to do what they did,” she said.
In a statement, the United States Tennis Association said that due to the non-compliance, Djokovic would lose all qualifying points earned at this year’s US Open and would be fined the prize money he would have won, in addition to the fines that will apply due to the incident. .
Due to a temporary change in the qualifying system to accommodate the five-month tour hiatus, Djokovic will still be able to count his results from last year’s US Open in his qualification. He retired in the fourth round in 2019. Djokovic also faces a fine of up to $ 20,000 for skipping his mandatory post-match press conference.
The 33-year-old Djokovic has won five of the last seven Grand Slam singles titles and had lost just one set in his first three matches at the US Open. But the first set against Carreño Busta was a close affair and Djokovic was irritable. Earlier in the set, he threw a ball in frustration to the side of the court, without hitting anyone.
But when he served at 5-5, he landed hard on the second point as he changed direction and got up with a grimace and clutching his left shoulder. He received treatment in his chair, returned to the court losing 0-30 and then lost the game, still looking uncomfortable with his two-handed backhand and resorting to a one-handed drop shot twice.
Annoyed, he hit another ball in frustration, extending his left arm in apology towards the woman on the line as soon as he saw that it had been hit. Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic’s coach, collapsed into his seat in the players’ box in the cavernous and nearly empty stadium: apparently aware of the implications.
Andreas Egli, Grand Slam Supervisor, and Friemel soon arrived on court to investigate the situation and discuss the incident with Djokovic and the officials on the court.
“I know any call you make is difficult for you,” Djokovic told Friemel as they spoke online.
The incident was reminiscent of what happened to former British star Tim Henman in 1995 when he became the first player in the Open era to be disqualified from Wimbledon after hitting a ball and inadvertently hitting a ball, Caroline Hall, in the head from close range. . Henman, playing Jeremy Bates, was breached during a doubles match for unsportsmanlike conduct.
In 2012, Argentine David Nalbandian was expelled from the singles final at the Queen’s Club after kicking a wooden billboard and injuring the left leg of linesman Andrew McDougall.
But as of Sunday, no world number one had been defaulted in the middle of a Grand Slam tournament. The closest equivalent to shock value at the US Open was in 2009 when No.2 seed Serena Williams received a points penalty for threatening a linesman who had called a foot foul in her semi-final against Kim Clijsters. . The penalty was evaluated at one match point, giving Clijsters a 6-4, 7-5 victory. – New York Times
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